Prescription-file



(No Model.)

G. L. GOODMAN. PRESCRIPTION FILE.

No. 471,856. Patented Mar} 29, 1892.

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NrrEn STATES ATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE L. GOODMAN, or SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

PRESCRIPTION-FILE.

$PECIFICATION'forming part'of Letters Patent No. 471,856, dated March29, 1892. Application filed January 26, 1892. Serial No. 419,305. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE L. GOODMAN, a citizen of the United States,residing at San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco and State ofCalifornia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inPrescription- Files; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to boxes or cases for filing papers for safekeeping, and is intended more especially for the preservation ofphysicians prescriptions in drug-stores. The filing of this last-namedclass of documents has always been a matterof some difficulty. Therequirements are, first, accuracy in filing; second, accessibility, sothat a prescription to be refilled may be readily found; third, economyin space, and, fourth, economy in time. The usual custom is to paste theprescription in large books, the papers being numbered consecutively.This method meets the'first, and possibly the second, requirement; butevidently 'neither the third nor fourth.

The object of my invention is to provide a box or case to receive thesepapers, which will be both a temporary and a permanent receptacle forthem, and which in its construction and the manner of using it will meetall the requirements above mentioned.

My invention is fully described in this specification, and is shown inthe accompanying drawings, in connection with which the specificationshould be read.

Figure l is a perspective view of my prescription-file. Fig. 2 is aperspective view of the box with the cover removed. Fig. 3 is across-section. Fig. 4 is also a cross-section with the cover removed andwith the sides of the box folded under the bottom.

The box is constructed of thin wood, stiff card-board, or any othersuitable material, and its dimensions are proportionate to the size ofthe papers it is intended to hold. To the bottom A are attached the sideand end pieces B O, the connection being made by a flexible binding 1,preferably of cloth or thin leather. This permits the sides and ends tofall outward when the cover D is removed, and also to be folded underthe box, as shown in Fig. 4, in order to economize space in the gradualfilling of case with prescriptions.

V The depth of the box is such as to accommodate a certain number ofprescriptionssay, five hundred or one thousand-which, numberedconsecutively, are impaled upon the pointed rod 2. This rod has itslower end threaded, and is secured to the bottom of the the file, aheavy piece of cardboard 6, having a hole which permits it to be slippedonto the rod 2, is placed upon the top of the series of papers, makingthe case firm and campact.

The cover D is made, preferably, from the same material as the box, andfits the latter when its side and endppieces are vertical. The cover isprovided with cleats 7, which may be rectangular blocks, as shown in thedrawings, and situated near the edges of the cover, or may be pieces ofWood or other material of right angle in cross-section. When the coveris placed upon the box, the upper edges of the sides and ends of thelatter project upwardly between the cleats and the cover. These cleatsprevent the side and end pieces of the box from falling inward and keepthem in their' proper positions. The strip of card-board 6, as shown 1nFig. 3, 1s of the same length and Width as the 1nter1or of the box andis so placed as to fit beneath the cleats 7. The elastic bands 5 may, ifdesired, be passed over this strip 6 in order to hold the mass of papersmore securely, and, indeed, this is the preferable way of securing-them.The advantages of my invention'are obvious. Each box contains a seriesof prescrip tions numbered in order. When it is desired to find acertain paper, the cover is removed andthe sides and ends fall outward,leaving the papers impaled upon the file and upon a flat surface, sothat they maybe turned upon the file in any direction, thus materiallyassisting the search, the prescriptions being'so arranged on the file asto permit 1ts contents to be read as if it werelying fiat upon a table.Space is also economized by folding the sldes or ends of the boxunderneath until the case is filled with prescriptions. At the same timethe filled boxes may be stowed'away in order, properly labeled, so thatthe box containing the desired prescription may be readily ascertainedat a glance.

What I claim is 1. A filing-case for prescriptions and other papers,consisting of a box having side and end pieces flexibly attached andadapted to be folded under the bottom, a filing-rod secured to thebottom of the box, and a cover to engage the upper edges of the flexiblepieces and hold them vertically against inward and outward movement,substantially as set forth.

2. A filing-case for prescriptions or other documents, consisting of abox having side and end pieces flexibly connected to the bottom, afiling-rod also connected to said bottom, and a cover for the box havingcleats so arranged as to permit the side and end pieces of the box toextend upward between said cleats and the cover and thus secure them,substantially as set forth.

3. In a filing case or box, the combination of a bottom having flexiblyattached side and end pieces, a filing-rod secured to the bottom, aremovable top board, and a cover pressing the same down, substantiallyas set forth.

4. In a filing-case, the combination of abox having side and end piecesflexibly connected to its bottom, a filing-rod secured to said bottom, atop board adapted to beimpaled upon said filing-rod above the papers inthe box, elastic bands or loops secured to the bottom, and a cover forthe box, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature, in presence of twowitnesses, this 18th day of January, 1892.

GEORGE L. GOODMAN.

VVituesse-s:

L. W. SEELY, JOHN COFFEE.

